From The Big Story: Writer Evan Ratliff Tried to Vanish: Here's What Happened
- 1h 9m
- Transcript
Summary
Written by a model from the transcript; not yet reviewed.
Writer Evan Ratliff details his month-long experiment to completely vanish and restart life under a false identity while a decentralized mob of online hunters attempted to track him down using a $5,000 bounty. Operating as a fictional businessman named James Donald Gatz, Ratliff traversed multiple states using disguises, burner phones, cash, and encrypted Tor networks to evade detection. Meanwhile, crowdsourced investigators including veteran researchers and teenagers utilized social media tags like #Vanish, dissected digital footprints from credit card bills and IP addresses, and staked out locations nationwide. The narrative explores both the mechanics of modern digital surveillance and the profound psychological toll of extreme isolation, culminating in Ratliff being located and caught by pizza entrepreneurs in New Orleans after exposing a new IP address.
- Every digital transaction, from toll passes to credit card purchases, leaves a trail that investigators can assemble into a map of your movements. 4:18
- Masking your web surfing through Tor requires strict discipline, as minor operational security failures or logging into public services will instantly expose your location. 20:11
- When building a false persona online, populating profiles with automated bot accounts can raise red flags for sharp-eyed investigators looking for anomalies. 52:02
- Total reinvention in the modern era quickly dissolves from an adventurous escape into a state of intense, paranoid isolation and sleeplessness. 41:20
Chapters
- 0:05Podcast Intro and Advertisements
The episode opens with the host introducing the Wired story and a series of commercial spots before diving into the narrative.
- 1:32Big and Tall Clothing Ad – DXL
An ad promotes DXL’s big and tall clothing line.
- 2:06Evan Ratliff’s Escape Plan Begins
Ratliff describes his departure from San Francisco, detailing the errands and precautions he takes to vanish for a month.
- 5:11The Manhunt is Announced
Wired announces the challenge, offering a $5,000 bounty and outlining the rules and timeline for locating Ratliff.
- 11:23The Online Hunt Grows
Readers and amateur investigators flood Twitter, Facebook, and blogs with clues, IP data, and speculation, turning the chase into a massive crowdsourced effort.
- 1:03:40Podcast Intro and Host Greeting
The episode opens with a brief introduction and welcome from the hosts.
- 1:04:28Encounter with Two Men Outside Bookshop
The narrator recounts a tense meeting with two men while passing a bookstore.
- 1:05:19Letter to Nicholas Thompson – The Vanish Story
The narrator shares a detailed letter explaining the personal impact of Ratliff’s disappearance.
- 1:06:56Personal Journey of Reinvention
The narrator reflects on the challenges and revelations of attempting to reinvent oneself.
- 1:08:04Aftermath and Return to Normalcy
The narrator describes how life returned to normal and the lingering effects of the experience.
- 1:09:48Closing Reflections and Thank You
The narrator thanks listeners and provides final thoughts on the story.
- 1:11:38Shopify Business Startup Ad
An advertisement highlights Shopify’s tools for starting and growing a business.
Highlights
- 2:06
Fleeing Under Pre-Planned Misdirectionstrategy
Ratliff describes his departure from San Francisco, detailing deliberate head-fake purchases like oil changes and prepaid phones designed to confuse future investigators scanning his financial records.
- 6:45
Setting Up the Bounty Contestdata
Wired offered a $5,000 bounty for anyone who could locate Ratliff between August 15 and September 15, say the secret password "fluke," and snap his picture while his editor published his real financial data online.
- 11:33
Crowdsourced Investigation Erupts on Twitterstory
Amateur and professional investigators organized under the hashtag #Vanish, creating tip lines, building map routes, and extracting metadata from Ratliff's Flickr photos to uncover his personal history and habits.
- 17:52
Riding the Greyhound Bus for Anonymityinsight
Ratliff explains why bus travel remains an effective sanctuary in the post-9/11 world, allowing him to buy a ticket under his fake name without showing photo identification.
- 23:15
Teen Hacker Deconstructs Tor Nodesstory
A 16-year-old high school student using the handle @socilian meticulously verified Ratliff's IP addresses and set up a private secure chatroom to coordinate the pursuit without tipping off the target.
- 33:27
Hitching a Ride With an Indie Bandstory
To travel across the country without renting a car under his real name, Ratliff responded to a Craigslist ad and rode in a shuttle van with a Philadelphia indie rock band called The Hermit Thrushes.
- 57:51
Triangulating the New Orleans IP Addressdata
Investigator Jeff Reifman spotted Ratliff logging into Twitter from a new IP address in Jackson's Gap, Alabama, which another hunter quickly triangulated as originating in New Orleans.
- 1:04:28
Getting Caught Outside a Bookstorestory
After successfully hiding for weeks, Ratliff is finally confronted outside a book reading in New Orleans by local pizza entrepreneurs who recognize him and utter the password, "Fluke."
Quotes
“I would leave behind my loved ones, my home, and my name.”
Unnamed speaker · 6:31 “I was shocked by the intensity of the pursuit, I had anticipated the tactics.”
Unnamed speaker · 20:05 “The hunters knew the names of his catsitter and his mechanic, his favorite authors, his childhood nicknames.”
Unnamed speaker · 14:57 “I left one of the new ones with my girlfriend and mailed the other to my parents, giving them an untraceable way to contact me in emergencies.”
Unnamed speaker · 3:13 “Scores of people have studied my picture, stared into those empty eyes in the hopes of relieving me of thousands of dollars.”
Unnamed speaker · 1:04:01 “I packed up my apartment, rented a car, and visited my parents in Florida.”
Unnamed speaker · 1:06:56 “It turns out that people, ordinary people, really can gather an incredible dossier of facts about you.”
Unnamed speaker · 1:07:50 “AI can make businesses faster. It can also make mistakes, expose data, and execute the wrong instructions faster.”
Unnamed speaker · 1:10:38
Sponsored segments
- Threat Locker 0:31–0:59
- Whole Foods Market 1:00–1:29
- DXL Big & Tall 1:32–1:58
- Threat Locker 15:37–16:00
- Whole Foods Market 16:00–16:30
- DXL Big & Tall 16:32–17:01
- Threat Locker 42:36–42:58
- Whole Foods Market 42:59–43:27
- DXL Big & Tall 43:30–43:57
- ThreatLocker 1:10:45–1:11:07
- DXL Big and Tall 1:10:57–1:11:37
- Shopify 1:11:38–1:12:05
About this episode
Listen to more of The Big Story here: http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop He shed his identity with the goal of disappearing for one month. Then the manhunt began. Written by Evan Ratliff. Originally published on November 20th, 2009. For more of the most ambitious, future-defining stories from our favorite human writers, subscribe to The Big Story newsletter: https://www.wired.com/newsletter/the-big-story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
10,168 words · 5 speakers
Topics
- Wired
- Vanish Team
- The Hunters
- Tor
- Naked Pizza
- South Pecos Road
- Amtrak
- Lone Shark Games
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